


Jeiden

by TEC



Category: Original Work
Genre: Any Mistakes are on Author, Edited, Other, Short Story, Sick Pet, Two Hour Self-Challenge, enjoy, feel good
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27931954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TEC/pseuds/TEC
Summary: Reformees are given a betta fish, and they have to keep that fish alive for at least a year. If it dies before that, they get a new one and the process starts over. Sometimes, the former criminals get attached.
Relationships: Pet-Owner Relationship
Kudos: 1





	Jeiden

**Author's Note:**

> I am working on a small novella, and that will be a ways away because school has been very challenging. I am not posting any of it until it is completely finished, because I want you guys to have the most polished product I can give you.  
> If you read this fully, do you want me to put this, and those like it, in a series? Series of mini-stories, of various genres? Any thoughts will be appreciated.  
> If you do read the Author's Notes, please know that I LOVE criticism. Make it hurt, I'm a masochist.

Annoyance looked up from his book at the sound of Jeiden's cursing. Snapping it shut, he looked over the sofa at where the man's room was, the door slightly ajar. That would explain why he could hear that colorful word so clearly.

  
"Jeiden?" Annoyance put the book down on the coffee table. Well, it was more of a firm toss, but details.

  
"I'm not doing anything!" The former criminal clearly lost some of his acting skills being there for so long, the tinge of panic in his voice was blatant. Panicked from being caught...or panicked from being caught, were the only two questions.

  
Annoyance sighed, his ears now perked up. If Jeiden didn't want to get caught _so_ badly, then why did he leave his door open, knowing a dragon was right there, not five meters away? "Reformees," he muttered, his namesake dripping into the word, "they only remember what they want to."  
Though why one would not want to remember just how good a dragon's hearing was, that would forever be a mystery. The green beast got up from his seat, giving his book a longing glance as he went behind the sofa. Jeiden must have heard his footsteps, as Annoyance could hear the loud shuffling that was only caused by the quick fumbling of a caught fool. He pushed the lazily closed door open.

  
He expected two things from that uncaring, loathsome man that he was in change of changing the ways of. First one was some kind of illegal possession. A firearm, a substance of some sort. Something that reformees commonly smuggled in to get a taste of their old life, no matter how much they despised it. The second, a book. It was an odd quality, but Annoyance had met reformees, time and again, that could not _stand_ being caught with a good book, especially _romance._ Something about pride or whatnot. It was something that Annoyance took particular offense to, as he was in the habit of reading one trashy romance novel after the other, always getting surprised by the obvious twists.

  
He was not expecting Jeiden to be surrounded by various kinds of fish medication, tears down his face, as his assigned betta was in an sideways position at the water's surface.

  
They both just kind of stared at each other.

  
Jeiden was the first to break the silence, clearing his throat, "I was just..." He rubbed one of the medication packets, now empty, between his fingers. His mind seemed to pick up that he was not getting out of explaining this, and sighed, not unlike the one Annoyance did a bit ago, "I was just taking care of Rocky."  
When did the betta get a name? Annoyance stored the question for a later time, with only the mental comment of 'Cute name' resonating. He leaned on the door, arms crossed, claws gleaming in the tank's light. The room was dark, as usual. "It's been a year," he pointed out, pointing at the tank, "In theory, you could just let him die. You've kept him for the required time." He let the words hang, waiting for a response. When there was none, he carried on, "You don't have to do this."

  
"I know," the reformee responded, "But I...He's just...looks like he's in pain." Annoyance looked closely at the man's eyes, noting how they looked shinier than before, like the marbles in Rocky's tank. Jeiden took a deep breath, "He's just on his side. I mean...look at him!"

  
Annoyance did, and he didn't like what he saw. The fish was clearly on death row, unable to control his body gracefully like he did at the beginning. Something went wrong along the way, and now he was dying, and it would not be quick. "What do you want me to do about it?" Annoyance knew ways of "disposing" a betta, the oil was a good trick. Common and humane. It was like going to sleep for the fish, and once they were out, you'd put them out of their misery by adding lots more. He'd done it before, and so he still had a bottle of it in one of his cabinets. Jeiden could just say the word and Annoyance would go find it. The man wouldn't even have to be there for the process, Annoyance would do it alone and give the fish a dignified, clean death.

  
The answer caught the dragon off guard. "Save him." Jeiden sniffed, hanging his head down. "He's in agony. He can't even breathe right...He looks scared." The dragon remembered how Jeiden died, beaten up in some dark alleyway, on his side, in a puddle of his own blood. Helpless. It wasn't a clean or dignified death, it was only one of pain and destruction. It destroyed not only Jeiden, but also all the men involved in beating him, each hit chipping away at their souls until there was only a small and abused speck, gasping for breath. None of them went unscathed, but Jeiden did pay the ultimate price. One did not forget how it felt to die.

He looked at the fish, how it was gasping for breath, brief little wiggles signifying that there was some fight left, not that it would do any good. He knew that if left alone, the fish would slowly die. It wasn't one of those things that something could potentially swing back from if the owner didn't care enough, if nothing was done, it would be nothing more. 

Annoyance didn't see anything in the fish's expression, but he also didn't see a cat's joy or a dog's sadness, he only knew what an animal was feeling when their owner told him. They were in tuned with the animals' emotions far more than he, and it seemed the same logic went with fish. He couldn't see the fear, but Jeiden did, and that hurt him. It hurt him more than Annoyance could see. Annoyance didn't want to squander such a breakthrough with the man, did not want him regressing anymore than he already has. To see him show actual _care_ for something, that wasn't himself, was astonishing, especially so early on, with how bad he was when he got there. Maybe it was some hidden memory that revealed itself, a fish from a carnival, or something an uncle gave him, an innocent gift to a curious boy. Maybe he had a secret love for animals that just never went away, brought out by a Christmas puppy, and beaten back down with his first fist fight.

Annoyance could admit that he genuinely hated this man when he first got there, which was rare for him, something about the ex criminal just making his hackles raise and his teeth bare. Now though, he could see it on the man's face, how heartbroken he was from Rocky's condition, how the little wiggles made him flinch in sympathy. It would sound stupid to say he saw himself in that fish, but it wasn't a stretch, the man was in a similar position himself barely over a year ago, after all. Annoyance walked up beside him, looking into the tank. It was kept well, healthy amount of algae and the live plants (which was an addition that the dragon did not notice) were the perfect length for the five gallon, the leaves just below the surface. It was a betta's dream, if they could dream, along with all the food one could eat. Annoyance genuinely did not know how the fish became so sick with a setup like that, but luck was rarely on a reformee's side. Lady Luck would stoop so low as to take someone's pet, if it meant appeasing Karma.

  
He put a hand on Jeiden's arm, giving it a squeeze. The former criminal jolted, grabbing the claws on instinct. Annoyance felt pride when the man relaxed almost immediately, his mind no longer screaming _Threat_ on reflex. He looked down at all the medications, tsking, "This won't do. None of this stuff will work." He looked at the assortment, mostly powders and other junk. He even saw something that appeared to be oil. Someone got ripped off. He wasn't much of a fish person, and even he could say that oils weren't going to do much good for poor Rocky. 

  
Jeiden glared at his purchases, clearly already knowing that. He sniffed again, muttering under his breath. Annoyance squeezed his shoulder when he translated the words: 'Sorry, buddy.'

  
"You don't have to be sorry," They had a vet, one specilized in this kind of thing. Jeiden was far from the first to get so attached to his friend, and the vet was a personal friend of his. It would be costly, and it would not be a guarantee, but she was the best of the best, and had more than enough experience with other reformees' betta fish to help Rocky as best she could.

Annoyance lifted the grown man up with ease, huffing in humor when the man rocked back and forth on his feet, as if he were on a ship. The dragon noted that Jeiden did not react aggressively to that either, only giving a half-hearted flinch from the contact, but letting Annoyance help him up anyway. Annoyance always had doubts about this experiment, but, holy frick, it might actually work.

The dragon clapped his clawed hands, ignoring the quick little pricks of pain from one of his claws making contact with his palm, "Let's go save Rocky!"

**Author's Note:**

> If you guys liked this little mini-story, there will be more. I will just be writing these when I feel like it. They take no more than an hour, and getting them out of my head makes writing my novella 1000x easier.  
> Speaking of novella, since this one is going to be completely written and edited by the time I first publish it, what do you think the upload schedule should be? I'm thinking four long chapters, at least that is the original plan, but do you think I should upload the chapters daily? Every other day? Weekly? Your thoughts would be immensely appreciated.


End file.
